Title
Liberal Arts at the Brink / Victor E. Ferrall.
ISBN
9780674060883
Published
Cambridge, MA : : Harvard University Press, [2011]
Copyright
©2011
Language
English
Language Note
In English.
Description
1 online resource (304 p.) : 23 tables
Item Number
10.4159/harvard.9780674060883 doi
Dewey Decimal Classification
370.112
Summary
Liberal arts colleges represent a tiny portion of the higher education market-no more than 2 percent of enrollees. Yet they produce a stunningly large percentage of America's leaders in virtually every field of endeavor. The educational experience they offer-small classes led by professors devoted to teaching and mentoring, in a community dedicated to learning-has been a uniquely American higher education ideal.Liberal Arts at the Brink is a wake-up call for everyone who values liberal arts education. A former college president trained in law and economics, Ferrall shows how a spiraling demand for career-related education has pressured liberal arts colleges to become vocational, distorting their mission and core values. The relentless competition among them to attract the "best" students has driven down tuition revenues while driving up operating expenses to levels the colleges cannot cover. The weakest are being forced to sell out to vocational for-profit universities or close their doors. The handful of wealthy elite colleges risk becoming mere dispensers of employment and professional school credentials. The rest face the prospect of moving away from liberal arts and toward vocational education in order to survive. Writing in a personable, witty style, Ferrall tackles the host of threats and challenges liberal arts colleges now confront. Despite these daunting realities, he makes a spirited case for the unique benefits of the education they offer-to students and the nation. He urges liberal arts colleges to stop going it alone and instead band together to promote their mission and ensure their future.
Access Note
Access limited to authorized users.
System Details Note
Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
Digital File Characteristics
text file PDF
Source of Description
Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 18. Sep 2023)
Available in Other Form
print 9780674049727
Frontmatter
Contents
Preface
CHAPTER 1. Liberal Arts Colleges and Why We Should Care about Them
CHAPTER 2. The Economic Health of Liberal Arts Colleges
CHAPTER 3. The Declining Demand for Liberal Arts Education
CHAPTER 4. Competing
CHAPTER 5. Cooperating
CHAPTER 6. Recruiting Students
CHAPTER 7. Liberal Arts Teachers: A Profile
CHAPTER 8. Employing and Deploying Faculty for Teaching Excellence
CHAPTER 9. Tenure
CHAPTER 10. Curriculums
CHAPTER 11. At the Brink
Epilogue: A Fable
Appendix: Data on the 225 Colleges
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index
